OurGayDollars-Gay Day’s at Disney
This year I attended Gay Day’s at Disney in Orlando for the first time. Not only was it my first time to attend Gay Day’s, it was also my first time to ever visit any of the Disney theme parks. I should clarify that I went to the Gay Day’s events at the parks and not to any of the Gay Day’s sponsored Circuit Parties. Not that I wouldn’t have gone; it’s just that after spending 12+ hours each day in one of the parks in 90+ degree weather I was exhausted at the end of each day.
My dad was a mean, cheap man who would tell us that if we wanted to go to Disney Land that when we grew up and could pay for it we could go; so I never got to experience Disney as a child. So now as a 42 year old gay man I have experienced it for the first time and I truly loved it. As a result of the trip to Disney I have had a lot of people ask me about the cost of the parks and the cost associated with going and was it worth it, etc. So I thought that it would make a good top to kick things off here on Our Gay Dollars.
First off, a trip to Disney Land or any of the Disney theme parks is not an inexpensive undertaking. If you are looking for an inexpensive vacation this is not the place for you, especially if you have children. That being said Disney is still affordable (in my opinion) and doable when you look at it for what it is for a lot of people, a once in a life time experience. It however it can get expensive and it’s best to know that going in.
The tickets for the two parks that I visited, which were the Disney Hollywood Studios and Disney Land-Magic Kingdom, were about $90 each with tax. The price is slightly less for young children; however Disney does not offer discounted tickets, unless you are a resident of the state of Florida. The ticket price includes all of the rides, attractions and shows. I heard some people balk at the ticket prices; however after two days there I came to see it as a bargain and frankly I don’t know how they are able to operate with that ticket price. When you factor in the cost of all of the workers, performers and other staff as well as their benefits and healthcare I would think that alone would eat up the bulk of all ticket revenue. However, it does not end there as you have the upkeep and maintenance of the park and all of the rides and attractions, the facilities, utilities, insurance and construction of new rides and attractions. When I factor in all of those things then I stand by my opinion that $90 is a very reasonable ticket price.
When you get into the parks there are lots and lots and lots of things for sale. Just about anything that you can think of is for sale, either in the shape of a Disney character or with a picture of one of them on it. In my entire life I have never seen so many tee-shirts, hats and cups for sale. This can really cost you; I spent about $75 on some mugs, magnets and such and that’s just for one person. My advice is to not buy anything until you are just about ready to leave and then take your time and decide if it’s something you really, really want. I saw people carrying bags around all day long who shopped early, by the end of the day most of them looked like they were ready to pitch it all in the trash. So just wait until you are about ready to leave, it’s not worth the hassle of carrying that stuff around all day long.
The food that you find in the parks is pretty much what I thought it would be; burgers, fries, chicken strips, popcorn, soda, ice cream. I travel a lot for my job which means I eat in a lot of airports so I know what inflated food prices look like. The food and drink prices were pretty much in line with what I thought they would be. A 20oz bottle of Coke was $2.50 as was a bottle of water and most meals were about $12. There are also all kinds of shops selling cookies and candy and you name it so you won’t go hungry; however if you are looking for something healthy you have to look pretty hard to find it. After my trip I’m good without having a French fry until sometime in October. I would say that it’s reasonable to plan on at least $35 per person, per day in the park with two meals and a snack and some drinks in between. They will let you bring in bottled water and there are plenty of fountains that you can refill them from and that’s one way to keep cost down.
Outside of the ticket cost and of course transportation down there (we drove) the other big ticket item is finding a place to stay. Orlando is full of all kinds of place to stay and there are several properties on the actual Disney property. The hotels on the property can get pretty expensive; however if you have small kids that are going to need a nap in the middle of the day these might be worth the extra expense. However we opted for something more economical and rented a condo. Our tour director Sandy found us a great deal on some condos that were about 10 minutes away from the parks. He used a great gay travel website Purple Roofs Gay & Lesbian Travel to get us a great place and a great deal. We got a very nice three bedroom, two bath condo for $120 per night. Our condo community was gated, had a pool and was less than a mile from the super market and all kinds of restaurants and fast food joints.
In all I feel that the trip was worth every penny and I had a great time. It was fantastic to experience the park with so many other members of our tribe there and many with the kids in tow. Is it for everyone, no; however I think that it’s definitely something that you should consider checking out.
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